Certain applications such as browsers have a very short timeout period when requesting information from a serving host. For example, when using HTTP on wireless networks, sometimes HTTP responses can take quite some time to reach the device. If the application such as a browser doesn't take into account the latency associated with wireless networks, the user experience with that browser will not be similar to browsing on a computer using a wired connection.
Even with wired connections, sometimes the browser may timeout prematurely, degrading the user's experience with the application.